The Mischief Within
by moonlight64
Summary: Loki finds himself, against his will, utterly intrigued by a mere mortal, a peasant, a midgardian girl named Harper. He breaks out of the Asgard prison to come to Midgard and to find out just what it is about her that makes her so irresistable. While he tries not to be allured by this mortal, a creature he always deemed so low, he realizes something he never thought possible.
1. Chapter 1

The dim glow of the distant lights reflected off the white, clinical walls, the low humming sound of the cells' force fields made it nearly impossible to focus and find peace of mind. And yet it was the ever ongoing silence that almost drove him insane. A mind as loud as his was only ever fueled in its' suffocating pain by the silence. Unfortunately prison riots happened too seldomly. Loki sighed. This was madness! How did they dare lock him up in this utterly ridiculous way! It has been far too long since they had put him in this cursed cell. His body was going numb while his mind was going insane. Never had he dared to believe that such a dreadful fate would become his own. In his youth he had found it rather amusing to sneak into the prisons to occasionally free some of the prisoners. It would entertain him for a while on dull days. Thor on the other hand would practice fighting and running and all the things Loki could find absolutely no interest in. He had his magic and that, he thought, would serve him well enough for the future.

As if his thoughts had reached out of the cell, he heard Thor approaching him. But when Thor arrived in front of the cell it was empty.

"Oh brother, when will you ever stop trying to deceive me?" Thor asked, not impressed at all.

"When you stop falling for it ever so often, _brother._ " Loki chuckled bitterly, speaking the last word with obvious disdain, as the illusion faded away between them. He sat on the cot, his back against the wall. Oh how much he wanted to trick Thor more often. It brought Loki the greatest of joys to see him at his mercy.

To his surprise, Thor did not reply but opened the cell instead. "I have something to show you. But believe me, if you try to escape you will be very sorry."

With a smirk, Loki jumped to his feet. Whatever Thor had in mind it was going to be more interesting than the prisons. As they walked up the stairs leading into the palace, a hand full of guards appeared around them.

"Does the Allfather know about your doings?" Loki questioned with a smirk.

"He sure does by now. Still, I would rather not meet him or mother right now." Thor replied coldly. He did not like walking around Asgard with his criminal/genius/insane brother. But this had to be done. He had merely made sure that it would.

After only a few minutes Loki knew where they were headed. "So… Why exactly are you taking me to the Bifröst?" He had very well noticed how he was not in chains nor were they escorted by many guards. This was a mere joke of security. At least for what Thor knew him to be capable of. And exactly this was what intrigued Loki, he therefore decided to wait with escaping at least until Thor had shown him whatever he was so excited about.

It did not take them long to arrive at their destination. Heimdall awaited them already and Thor nodded in his direction. "Show him."

Heimdall nodded and a second later Loki could see the slightly blurry image of a rather young woman in a flowy, rather short dress. No doubt that she was Midgardian. Loki groaned. "Why for all heavens, _brother_ , are you showing me a _girl_? A midgardian peasant..." He rolled his eyes but yet took another look. "She is not even your type." His lips curled up in a smirk. Now it was for Thor to roll his eyes indeed. "Just watch…" He said with a sigh. For once, and only once, Loki obeyed and watched the projection of Heimdall's vision.

The girl was clad completely inappropriately for Loki's taste. She looked ridiculous, but on the other hand, all Midgardians did so it did not surprise him much.

She walked down a dark alleyway, one of the type a person in his right mind would avoid at all costs. More or less suddenly a bunch of midgardian men, if you could call this primitive bunch men, followed after her.

"Are you really making me watch this?" Loki asked, annoyed. "This is _Midgard_ , these things happen there all the time. It is daily business for them."

"Keep quiet and watch!" Thor grumbled. Neither he nor Heimdall seemed uncomfortable watching the scene. Loki on the other hand wanted to turn away in disgust. Exactly events like these had made him want to rule the place after all. Under his rule, nothing like this would happen ever again. Only that no one but him had seen that. With a long and angry sigh he continued watching nonetheless. The men caught up more and more with the girl as she suddenly stopped in her movement and stood completely still for a moment. Loki let out a huff, even Thor shifted in his stance and neither saw coming what happened next. Slowly the girl turned around. The men had almost caught up with her now, coming yet closer and closer. Her sparkling green eyes were full of utter excitement and… joy? Focus still on the subjects at hand, she reached into her pocket, pulling out a puny apparatus Loki could not identify. The men now stood directly in front of her, reaching out their hands, groping and brutal. Suddenly, an electric buzz. Then silence.

In a mere second she had all five men laying on the ground, groaning in pain.

Loki's jaw dropped. He had not seen this coming at all. Thor on the other had grinned in satisfaction.

Before neither could say a word, the girl stepped over her _victims_ , as they definitely were at her mercy now, with light, feathery steps. She slowly walked back in the direction she had just come from, with a devilish smile playing on her lips.

Then the image blurred and vanished into thin air. For a moment Loki was speechless. He had no idea what he just witnessed and neither knew he how to respond to it.

"Well…?" Thor asked with a smug expression on his face. "I told you it was worth coming with me after all."

Slowly Loki nodded, yet he remained silent for his mind was screaming at him. What he had just witnessed intrigued him beyond measure. _But she is merely a MIdgardian for heaven's sake! How dare she fascinate me… How dare she even exist!_ For what felt like hours Loki stared into space, eyes wide and lips slightly parted as his mind raced around itself.

"Well I think I just broke Loki." Thor chuckled, looking at Heimdall who had the same stoic expression as always.

" _Who_ was that?!" Loki finally asked in his usual demanding voice. "And why did you show - _this-_ to me?"

"Ooohh… I was just thinking that I had silenced you for good." Thor teased, but the furious glow in Loki's eyes told him better to quit joking around. "Her name is Harper. She is out of your reach, brother." He sighed.

"I could have guessed that much." Snapped Loki. "But _why_ did you show me this?"

"Well, I thought it might be a good idea to show you that you are not the only evil mastermind in this world or another." Thor said, as he moved to return to the palace, the guards urging Loki in the same direction. "Your ego has gotten the better of you over time."

"I would not necessarily call _it_ an evil mastermind." He snarled back. "How dare you compare that peasant to me!"

"Oh quit the façade Loki! I saw how you looked at her, so stop acting like a jerk!"

"What does that mean?" Loki asked, irritated at Thor's choice of words.

"Jane calls me this sometimes. It's a midgardian word for fool." Thor replied in annoyance. "Now stop acting up while the guards take you back to your cell." With that Thor hurried ahead back to the palace, leaving Loki with the puny amount of five guards behind. _Oh brother, when will you learn…_

In an instant Loki had taken out all of the guards and walked back up to Heimdall.

"Bring me to the place where this… Harper is." He ordered loudly.

"Odin has forbid anyone leaving Asgard while you are not back in your cell." He answered calmly.

"WILL YOU OBEY!" He yelled, "You know what happened the last time you refused to!"

With what could have been taken as a sigh, Heimdall finally did as he was told.

Meanwhile, Thor was headed to the throne room. He was sure Odin would wish to speak to him after all this madness.

"Thor…" Odin greeted him upon entering the large hall. "I see you are well."

"Yes, father, I knew he would not harm me." Thor answered calmly. "The guards are back at the palace as well. Loki thinks he outsmarted them, he thinks I was a fool for not bringing more guards. They are unharmed. Heimdall let him pass, just like he was supposed to."

"I hope you know what you are doing, my son. I trust in you, yet I deem you responsible for all actions Loki might take in Midgard." Odin went on.

"I know that… And I trust in the plan." Thor answered quietly. He just hoped the remaining bit of trust he had in Loki was not in vain. "Did you take his powers? His magic?"

"I would not have let him leave with them still present. As much as I trust in your judgement, I do _not_ trust in Loki." Odin's voice was stern and cold. For a brief moment Thor wondered if he was always like this to Loki, always had been...

"I think they will help each other." He finally said securely. "I think they will heal each other."

Odin sighed. "Or they might just destroy us all."


	2. Chapter 2

When Loki's journey through the bifröst came to a sudden stop, he felt a strong pain shooting through his back like a bullet. He did not remember it to be this painful. With a small groan he sat up only to find himself in the middle of a dark alley. For his taste it was the grossest place one could imagine. A bunch of trash bins had fallen over and emptied themselves all over the pavement. His rough landing had caused quite a mess. But why had it been rough in the first place? It dawned on him like a heatwave, almost making Loki nuseus. After a while of contemplating he finally tried to shift into the form of a cat- nothing happened. He also tried to make a dagger appear out of nowhere like he had done ever so often. Nothing. A fit of rage hit him and he punched his fist into the pavement below him. Only to realize that the pavement had not the lightest damage in contrary to his now bleeding knuckles. He hissed under his breath. Heimdall was going to pay for this. Or Odin. It must have been either of them who stole his powers whilst his journey down to Midgard. He stood up, stared at the wall for a second and then let out a thundering scream of frustration.

"Hey dude, I'm tryna sleep over here!" The sudden voice made Loki jump. He had overlooked a random punk sleeping between trash bags. Loki frowned. It was most likely around noon. Punks indeed…

He then stumbled towards the end of the alley, towards a larger street. People started throwing him glances from all around him for he still wore his armor. But for all the heaven's sake he did not care. His rage was the only matter he could think of. Except perhaps his actual reason for being here in the first place. He looked around himself but there were so many mortals all around that he could barely recognize any of the actual city he had crashed into.

"It's a bit early for ComicCon isn't it?" Asked a young woman who suddenly came to stand in front of him. She wore strange garments for Loki's taste, very strange indeed. Not that the mortals did not look strange to him anyway but this one was clad utterly ridiculous with a leo print top, leggings and wedge flip flops.

"How dare you ridiculous creature approach me…" Loki muttered. "Tell me, peasant, where am I?"

"San Francisco…?" The lady answered slowly and seemed to be chewing something which disgusted Loki beyond measure. "Who are you playing anyway? A viking or something?"

"I am Loki of Asgard." He said, getting annoyed. This creature obviously had an inferior intellect, there was nothing reasoning could do.

"Nooo…. The New York guy? You don't look like him at all." She snorted uglily. "Poor costume by the way. And you haven't even got the props right." With that she brushed past him and vanished in the crowds. Loki still stood there frowning. San Francisco it was. But how would he be able to find this Harper girl? Especially since he was consistently becoming more and more of an attraction. He stood still and thought until suddenly someone threw a coin at him. He angrily snapped out of his thoughts but could not make out who had been so rude, so reckless. That someone certainly had a deathwish.

He took a deep breath. His powers were gone. There was no way he could turn invisible or change his appearance with the snap of his fingers. He needed to find more… suitable garments if he wanted to find the girl _before_ someone recognized him and locked him up. He was still a refugee after all.

But where would he find a tailor in this foreign place? He looked around himself. There were plenty of houses with wide windows, displaying all sorts of midgardian clothing. Without a second thought he crossed the street, almost getting hit by a vehicle they called _car_. He had to remind himself that he had to be as ordinary as he could and not get into trouble. Otherwise the driver of this _thing_ would not live to see the evening.

On the other side of the street there was a bright sign above the entrance and quite a few people rushing in and out with plastic bags.

Loki was pretty upset already about the crowds. They made him nervous, especially without his powers. With long and quick steps he approached a woman who was busy putting clothes into shelves.

"Where do I find your tailor?" He asked coldly, looking down at the short, chubby woman.

"Sorry, uhm… What?" She asked as she turned to him with a frown.

Loki rolled his eyes. "Your tailor. I would like new, more - _mortal_ \- garments."

"I'm sorry but you might misunderstand something… We _sell_ clothes, but we do not produce them here." She answered, obviously irritated by Loki's appearance. "But I could help you pick a pair of Jeans and a shirt if you'd like that."

"Very well then…" He said in defeat. "Lead the way, mortal."

Still unsure of what to think of her customer she headed to the men's section, earning looks from the other customers. "Would you prefer a light or a dark wash?" She finally asked.

"I need clothes, not a bath!" Loki protested. He tried his best not to be annoyed with this mortal as she seemed to be really trying to help him. He was in desperate need of help if he wanted to fly under the radar.

The woman snorted shortly and handed him some kind of pants. "These should fit. What kind of shirt do you want? Buttons? Long sleeves?"

He shot her a _I-don't-know-what-you're-talking-about_ glare and she handed him a green bundle of fabric with a sigh. "Looks like green is your color." She mentioned to his armor. "Are you from ComicCon or something?"

He wanted to yell and punch something or even better, destroy the whole place. But instead he flashed his brightest smile. "Yes, indeed. And my change of clothing must have gone missing."

"Oh, that's a shame. At least you seem to have got some money left for new clothes!" She smiled back and pushed him towards a small room, where he assumed he should change into the new clothes. How humiliating, having to change like the ordinary people. Oh, how much he missed his magic. _Paying for things… Never had to do that._ He rolled his eyes as he changed into the items the lady had given him, ripping off the small plastic tags some idiot had attached to them. At least the things were rather comfortable and easy to move in. Now on to the money. He would have to pay for these things. He would need money for mostly everything in Midgard. He looked at his armor. It was worth a lot in Asgard, but here it was of no use. Unless, of course, those puny heroes came for him again. But he would only attract attention if he carried it around and even Loki was realistic enough to know that he had no chance against a bunch of people who still had their powers. With a slight sting in his heart, he left it behind. Outside the small changing room, he looked at himself in the mirror. How ridiculous he looked… How _midgardian._ Like a peasant. He had worn midgardian clothes before, but never needed it to be inconspicuous and boring like this.

He looked around himself. A middle aged Lady sat on a stool, probably waiting for someone. She looked like she had the money he needed. And after all, Odin could not take _all_ his abilities, so he approached her, charming and with a friendly smile. He hid his bruised and scratched hand however, mortals did not react too well to blood.

"Hey there…" He began, inwardly cursing himself for having to do this. Without the slightest of insecurity, he charmed her, flirting, _distracting_. She was all but infatuated by his words and of course his looks. As he finally turned to leave, he had her money in the pockets of his _jeans_ -pants. A bunch of paper, but Loki had dealt with that before. If he was not mistaken, he had robbed the poor lady of about $200. Despite what his brother and the allfather thought, he was not a criminal. He never liked being the bad guy and he never wanted to be. But he had to survive this living hell. He felt bad nevertheless. After he found the lady who had assisted him, he pressed $100 into her hand. "I hope that will do." He said quickly and hurried for the exit, hearing her yell how it was too much and how he had to pay at the cash desk. But he just had to get out of this madness, away from the people. They were everywhere. Back on the street, he turned left and walked as fast as he could in this direction. At least, the people had stopped staring and now didn't even notice him.

After a while and a few turns he suddenly arrived at the waterfront. There he stood, staring at the pier. More mortals. Everywhere! He cursed himself for wanting to find the stupid mortal girl in a place like this _San Francisco_ he was now trapped in. He was hungry. And tired. And confused. What the hell had he gotten himself into… He stood at the pier, arms on the railing with his face in his hands. He was a god, darn it! He should not be as lost as he feels right now. This place… The people… He's a genius! He should be able to figure out how to survive in this world that was so different from his own. And yet, he felt more lost than he had ever before. Despite being a superior creature, he depended on the people around him and he hated every second of it. Only a year ago he had tried to rule the place… That felt like a different life. He had not been himself back then.

He lifted his face and turned to look at the people, finally able to focus once again. _Use your brain you fool!_ He scolded himself and observed the life around him carefully.

When suddenly a hand grabbed him from behind.


	3. Chapter 3

In a quick move he turned around and grabbed the wrist of the person who had dared to touch him. "What?!" He snapped.

In front of him stood a police officer, who jerked his hand out of Loki's grip. Behind the officer stood the lady whose money Loki had taken. _Great. Just great._

"That's him! He ROBBED me!" She shrieked and wildly waved her hand in his face. Loki rolled his eyes. What an annoying creature she was…

"Sir, I must ask you to come with me." The officer said. Meanwhile many people had started watching the three of them. It must be quite the spectacle.

"Why would I come with you?" Loki asked, acting quite oblivious to what was happening. "I have never seen this woman in my life."

Outraged, the lady went to slap Loki, but he gracefully moved out of the way. _Do not break her arm, do not break her arm…_ He had to mantra the phrase to not just end the situation here on the spot. Even without his powers he easily could have knocked the officer out and just walked off.

"If I am not mistaken, it is a crime to attack innocent people for asking a mere question." He instead pointed out to the officer who seemed quite overwhelmed by the two people in front of him.

"That's enough! The two of you will come with me now and then we sort this out at the precinct!" He stuttered and shoved both in the direction of his vehicle. As if on demand, it started thundering and the first drops of rain fell down onto Loki's face. _Thank you brother, I got the hint…_ He thought in annoyance. If only he had had a different plan, he would never have done what Thor tried to urge him into. But for now the best he could do was follow the officer and not cause any more attention. At least he would be dry.

Just as he had to squeeze himself into the seat of the car, it started to rain like madness. The lady on the other hand got soaked before she could shove her huge self into the seat next to him. He tried not even hide his smirk. Maybe Thor had not all bad intentions. Maybe he indeed was his brother after all. During the journey, Loki observed the two officers in the front of the car. One was rather chubby and the other looked like he had been bred with a twig. Loki prefered the chubby one, he looked like more fun. The car also interested him. It looked so midgardian… All the funny buttons and the puny icons… On Asgard the people would build something like this in half a day or so.

Once upon their arrival it was still pouring, but now it had gotten quite dark as well. They were led inside and into a small room with multiple chairs. He was urged to sit down while the officer listened to the lady ramble and scream and rant about whatever she had to say that took her so long. Loki on the other hand closed his eyes, crossed his arms behind his head and enjoyed the warmth of the room and the almost silence in his head.

"Well, Sir, what do you have to say to this?" The officer asked, pulling Loki out of his thoughts. With a sigh he opened his eyes. "I have to say that I highly wonder why this creature needs so many words to express her opinion."

The lady let out a huff and smoothed out her wet hair. The officer seemed quite upset as well and to avoid any more of this rather amusing mess Loki finally added "And I have never stolen a thing in my time being in this world."

"We will search you now for any belongings of this woman. If we don't find anything you are free to go." The officer sighed while his colleague made Loki stand up and empty his pockets.

To Loki's great luck, not all magic tricks he knew required actual magic. The money he had indeed _borrowed_ from the lady went into the pocket of the officer unseen. Otherwise he carried nothing but his slight grin.

"Well, there is nothing we can do now. No witnesses, no evidence, no money." The officer finally said. "You are free to go."

"Thank you very much indeed." Loki smiled and casually strolled out of the room into the entrance area. Behind him he heard the lady's furious yells as the door fell shut. _These mortals…_ He chuckled to himself. _Quite amusing._

He decided to sit down inside for a while until the rain had passed. While the people around him made it difficult to focus on his own mind, he still tried to think of a way to find the girl. He had wanted to come here to observe her for a while. But instead he was sent here to stay. Now he would have to make the best out of it. Maybe he could make one of these police people help him. Or he could use their vehicles to get around faster. An especially loud thunder made him look up towards the door, just as it flew open and two police people stormed in, dragging someone with them. A small figure really, compared to the two bulky men. Loki recognized her immediately. She looked different than in the scene he had witnessed through Heidall… Instead of the girly dress, she now wore ripped skinny jeans, boots and a rather tight fitting lacy top. Her pitch black hair was soaked and stuck all over her head and shoulders, hiding her face almost completely. The only thing Loki could see was her crooked grin. As soon as the officers had shoved her towards a seat, she cowered together and shivered in silence. _How foolish to be caught…_ Loki thought in disappointment. _He_ had not been caught after all. _He_ merely had had nothing better to do at the point. And yet he continued watching her. She looked all innocent and helpless. Was this really the girl his brother had shown to him? The thunderstorm outside seemed to have come to its hight, loud and furious.

Suddenly the lights in the precinct flared. Immediately Loki sat up straight. Something was up. He could feel it. And sure as the nightfall he was to be part of it. His gaze shot back to the girl only to find her staring at him directly. A cold shudder ran through his veins, unlike anything he had felt in a long while. There it was again, the utter fascination for this mortal. The lights flared once more, but he would not let her out of his sight again. She meant danger. Only that he yet did not know just how dangerous she would become for him.

He rose an eyebrow at her, holding her stare. She smirked at him and winked. Only then a cold heat ran through him as he finally realized that he had been wrong all along. He had not found her by accident. _She_ had found him.

A wicked grin came to his lips, mere seconds before the lights flared once more and then went out for good.


End file.
